Linda and David Renouf’s Corsair 25 Boatox wins Multihull Regatta

There was no shortage of wind providing plenty of thrills and spills in the APC Logistics 2012 Lock Crowther Multihull Regatta held over the October Long Weekend in Pittwater and Broken Bay, north of Sydney.

Local sailors Linda and David Renouf mastered the tricky conditions on their Corsair 25, Boatox to win both PHS and OMR divisions on corrected time ahead of The Countess (Brian Marshall, Grainger 50) and Rapid Ride (David Bishop, Grainger 30). Line honours winner was 31’ Grainger cat Indian Chief helmed by Joel Berg chased but not beaten by Voodoo Spirit (Doug Cuming, Egan 9.5). Indian Chief missed out on an OMR win by half a point from Boatox, with Voodoo coming third. In the Cruising Division Felix (David King, Seawind1150) won every race from Madneeka and What a Corka.

Racing started on Friday in a gusty 20-30 knot northerly with the 31nm Ocean Race up and down the coast off Broken Bay. Voodoo Spirit won the triple in her trademark offshore conditions from the two big comfortable cruising cats Two Up2 (Justin Grunwald, Crowther 50) and The Countess who came second after close tussle.

Off Barranjoey the Voodoo crew set up to hoist the spinnaker for the run back down Pittwater. 'Let’s wait for this gust to pass', said Doug the skipper. Bang, the gust hit and Voodoo surged on a swell and promptly buried its three bows to 50° before Doug managed to throw the main so she could recover. Sheets back in and up went the spinnaker for a fast run back up Pittwater to finish in two and half hours averaging over 12 knots for the race.

20 trimarans and catamarans jostled for positions on Saturday morning in a 10-15 knot westerly for the first pointscore race of the LCMR2012. Indian Chief, Quickstep (Jason Geddes, Crowther 41) and Lukim Yu (Robin Ottowa - Barrink 31’) shot ahead of the rest of the fleet.

A 30 knot squall came though half way through the race and positions changed as the crews struggled to control full rigs. Voodoo Spirit gained two places as Quickstep feathered and Lukim unluckily hit the Stokes point mark. Indian Chief was first home three minutes ahead of Voodoo; Lukim and Quickstep finished within a minute. Foxy (Shane Russell, Lynx 28) lead the pack six minutes later with Rapid Ride, Boatox and TwoUp2 close behind.

Indian Chief lead a reaching start for Race 2 ahead of Foxy, Voodoo, Quickstep, Lukim Yu and Startjenn (Johan Bertrom, Multi 23), who was sailing well in the demanding conditions, crew hiking dinghy style. Indian Chief sailed away from the fleet gaining time over Voodoo who couldn’t keep up in the reaching conditions, and led all the way to the finish, some 13 minutes ahead of Voodoo, scoring the triple including PHS and OMR wins.

The Sunday forecast was for lighter winds but strong gusts punctuated frustrating calms across Pittwater. Indian Chief stormed away again in Race 3 ahead of the fleet closely followed by Quickstep and Lukim Yu. Quickstep passed Indian Chief to lead around the Barrenjoey LM2 mark, but Indian Chief challenged and passed Quickstep off Pam Beach to claim the lead and the race. Voodoo caught up to Lukim who suffered an unlucky spinnaker tangle, to finish third behind Quickstep. Boatox lead the next group home to claim first on OMR and third on PHS.

Skippers were pleased to hear that the final race was to be sailed on the Broken Bay course, allowing for some strategic sailing. Fluky winds made for a slow start, but Indian Chief managed to find some wind to lead the fleet to Lion Island, followed by Quickstep, Rapid Ride, Lukim, Voodoo and Summit (Barry Allertz, F28). Around the Island Voodoo and Boatox passed Lukim, Quickstep and Rapid Ride, then both gained tacking close to the northern shore to avoid the strong outgoing tide, catching up to the becalmed Indian Chief who hit the Walker Point mark, dragged in by the current.

Suddenly the wind changed to the south east allowing the slower boats to catch up and the race started all over again. Indian Chief sailed faster than Voodoo back to West Head, but as they got closer Voodoo started gaining in the strengthening breeze to be only 30 seconds behind at the Barrenjoey mark, with Quickstep falling back.

The run up Pittwater back up to the RMYC finish was a drag race with Indian Chief faster in the lulls, Voodoo catching in the stronger gusts, and Quickstep slowly closing the gap. Indian Chief held to win by a minute over Voodoo with Quickstep a further 45 seconds behind. The slower boats fared well on handicap from the restart at Walker Point.